Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs jumps to get out of the way of a shot in front of the net of David Rittich of the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 4, 2019 in Calgary.)Derek Leung / Getty Images

It’s another year of optimism as NHL training camps begin on Thursday. But it’s also another year of worrying whether this will finally be the season when the Stanley Cup returns north of the border.

Before we get there, here are seven burning questions facing the seven Canadian teams:

The Flames will enter the season with the bitter taste of last year’s disappointing first-round exit still lingering in their mouths. But Lucic has the most to prove. Coming off the worst season of his career (six goals and 20 points), the big-bodied forward was dealt from Edmonton to Calgary in a change-of-scenery swap for James Neal, who is also looking to rebound. The Flames might not need Lucic to score 20 goals but they do need to know he can keep up with the play. A good indicator of that will come when he steps on the bathroom scale on Thursday. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin appeared to slim down this summer in an effort to get faster, so it will be interesting to see whether Lucic is lighter than the 230 pounds he played at last season.

EDMONTON

Where will James Neal play?

Calgary Flames James Neal during the pre-game skate before facing the San Jose Sharks in NHL hockey at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.Al Charest /
Postmedia

It’s another year in Edmonton, which means it’s another training camp where the Oilers are auditioning wingers to play with Connor McDavid. This time they at least someone who has scored 40 goals in the league. Of course, it was back before the last lockout. Can Neal, who is 32 years old and is coming off a seven-goal season in Calgary, find chemistry with McDavid? It’s not out of the ordinary. Pat Maroon scored 27 goals on McDavid’s wing in 2016-17 and Alex Chiasson had 22 goals there last year. But whether it’s on a line with McDavid or with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the team needs Neal to get back to scoring between 20 and 30 goals. If not, kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.

MONTREAL

Can Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki steal spots?

Ryan Poehling of the Montreal Canadiens scores on goaltender Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal.Minas Panagiotakis /
Getty Images

A year ago, the Canadiens were somewhat pleasantly surprised when No. 3 overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi went from the draft floor to the NHL. No one is expecting No. 15 overall pick Cole Caufield to do the same this year. But the team is holding out hope — and possibly a couple of roster spots — that 2017 first-round draftees’ Poehling and Suzuki can skip the AHL and step right into the offence. In his one-game audition, Poehling scored a hat trick and added another in the shootout of a 6-5 win against the Maple Leafs. Suzuki, meanwhile, is coming off a record-setting run in the OHL playoffs, where he scored 16 goals and 26 points in 24 games and was named MVP.

OTTAWA

How will the ex-Leafs mesh?

D.J. Smith, head coach of the Ottawa Senators, is pictured at his home in Tecumseh, Ont., Tuesday, July 30, 2019.DAX MELMER /
Postmedia

What’s that they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? For a franchise that considers Toronto its No. 1 rival, it was interesting to see how many ex-Maple Leafs (D.J. Smith, Connor Brown, Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey) ended up in Ottawa last summer. The most important addition will be Smith, who as the new head coach will begin the arduous task of bringing respectability back to the 31st-place team. Don’t expect miracles. But with a young and talented core that includes Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom, it will be Smith’s job to have them believing that they can be competitive. And considering where Toronto was just a few short years ago before turning things around, it might not be hard to convince them.

For the second straight year, the Leafs enter training camp with one of their top forwards still unsigned. No one wants another William Nylander situation, where he went basically two months without a contract and then looked lost when he eventually returned. But that’s the danger for every day that Marner misses. And as deep as the Leafs are at forward, losing a winger who led the team with 94 points last season and kills penalties is a major blow. Without Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau, the Leafs need his offence in the line-up. More importantly, so does John Tavares, who scored a career-best 47 goals with Marner on his wing. After all, with Florida drastically improving in the summer, it’s no longer a given that Toronto will finish in the top 3 in the division.

If you think the Leafs have it bad with Mitch Marner still unsigned, consider what it must be like for the Jets. Not only is Laine still without a contract, but so too is Connor. That’s a combined 64 goals and 116 points from last season! And it’s coming on the wings, where the Jets’ depth chart is looking less like a position of strength. Maybe this is an opportunity for Nikolaj Ehlers, who is coming off a 37-point season, to show he can produce in their absence. But chances are GM Kevin Cheveldayoff isn’t sleeping as soundly as he normally would these days. On the plus side, the longer Laine and Connor are missing, the longer management gets to see what they have in 2017 first-rounder Kristian Vesalainen, who split last season in the KHL and AHL. Who knows, they might need him more than they thought they would.

VANCOUVER

Will J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland provide secondary scoring?

Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland heads to the bench to celebrate his goal against the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg on Sun., Oct. 14, 2018.Kevin King /
Postmedia Network

In case you didn’t know, this is the year that the Canucks want to make their push for a playoff spot. That’s why the team acquired J.T. Miller in a trade and then signed Micheal Ferland in free agency. The moves gave a young team some added muscle, something that could come in handy in the post-season. Of course, the team has to make the playoffs first. For that to happen, Miller and Ferland better produce more than they did a year ago. After Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser, the next-highest scorer on the Canucks was defenceman Alex Edler with 10 goals and 34 points. That’s not nearly enough secondary scoring. Expect Ferland, who had 17 goals and 40 points in Carolina last year, to get a chance on the left side with Pettersson and Boeser. Miller, who had just 13 goals while being lost in the shuffle in Tampa Bay, will likely join Horvat and Tanner Pearson on the second line.

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